I just wanted to say that I really appreciate everybody here. The people, the site, the community, etc. I think most people saw the Gallardo that we dynoed before and after the $10,000 exhaust. The owner of that car, who is very cool, and a member here, did a beautiful write up, and has received nothing but grief. If you are interested in knowing just how lucky we are, and a small write-up of driving the G and the Ferrari F430, check this out: http://www.lambo-power.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11529 SS
oh yeah, cant view the post, asking for a login.. i know big surprise im not a member of the lambo forum.
I've been waiting for that question Super I couldn't believe everybody was more interested in bashing us than a back-to-back comparison between the G and the 430... Obviously they are both FANTASTIC. I must admit, the 430 owner was very nervous in the car, and was in a rush to go back to work (that's right, leave in the middle of a track day to go back to work, oh well, duty calls). He hadn't even wanted to ride along when I took it out, but I convinced him he should. I had planned on doing a lap or two in sport, then go to Race. By the time I was halfway through the first lap I realized I should have left him in the pits Wink We wear intercom's in our helmets when we're instructing, to make sure that we have clear communication with the students. Every time I approached the corner I could hear the owner cringe and hold his breath. Oh well, his car, and he was not likely to want me to go to race. The 430 is great. Having driven a fairly wide range of F-cars before, it was pretty much exactly what I'd expected - like a very comfortable formula car Wink Good smooth power, GREAT brakes, pretty good balance, but I must admit, with it set in Sport was disappointed with the front grip. Both on corner entry and corner exit the electronics were fighting me. The electronic nannies wouldn't let me rotate it at all. They wouldn't let me rotate it more than maybe 2 degrees of yaw on the brakes (there's a low speed-corner that rewards a bit of rotation on entry), and chopped the power EARLY on the way out. Of course the solution was a small turn of the dial staring me in the face, but with the owner so nervous already, I opted out. I believe it would be a MAJOR wonderful experience in race. The 430 is incredibly communicative, both front and rear. The steering communicates the texture of the road beautifully, there is great grip everywhere and the tail seemed to rotate exactly when, and at the rate expected, but then the spin control jumped in, killing corner exit. It was nicely torquey for coming out of the corners and was quick but not overwhelming on the straights. Then I got in the G Twisted Evil I rode with Ima2ner first. He drove it well. He had started with traction control on. Worked up to the limit, turned it off, gone faster, and then coming out of a combination, right-left corner had a nice easy spin Wink He drove with the traction control on for a while, working on his exit speed. I must say, it's a good thing the G has such GREAT brakes; the sound of that exhaust ripping to 8k is INTOXICATING. (I'm not selling them, but I do think they're great) You don't want to lift at the end of the straight, you just want to make it scream a little higher Wink I finally got my turn behind the wheel Twisted Evil I don't know how many of you drove old Lambos, F-cars, etc, these new exotics are SO much more user friendly. Great seats, pedals, shifters, "alignment" of driver with wheel and pedals. I should also admit here that I play mostly with awd stuff. STi's, EVO's, Audi's, etc. They are SO much more forgiving, you can really throw them around and have fun with them. The mid-engine rwd stuff is like a formula car, they reward precision and small yaw angles. The awd stuff likes to be slid Wink Even with traction control on, you can make it rotate on the way in, and drive it off the apex with a beautful, easy, 4 wheel drift, with just a hint of yaw. Not necessarily the fastest way 'round, but WHAT FUN!!! Of all the cars I've driven lately, I think the G was one of the most purely ENJOYABLE drives I've had. It is INCREDIBLY fun to slightly over-drive it, sliding it all the way through the corner with just a hint of yaw. Then it's almost more impressive when you relax and drive it properly. The G was one of the most rewarding cars to drive "right" (not over-driving) of anything I've driven. The steering is nicely weighted, and still very direct (any time you have a diff between the front wheels you give up a touch of feel and turn-in, but MORE than make up for it with corner exit, plus the mid-engine lets you rotate as much as you want on turn-in anyway). The throttle was a bit touchy, seeming to have a bit of a "switch" near 80% throttle, but the awd still lets you come just CLAW off the corner beautifully. Then it hits the straights, and I have to say, the power delivery at higher rpm is BEAUTIFUL. I hate to keep coming back to the exhaust, but the SOUND is really AMAZING as it gets up there. I drove an ORIGINAL 1964 Shelby Cobra recently. Very similar power delivery, beautiful and smooth everywhere, but a top end pull that JUST. DOESN'T. QUIT. Ima2ner had pretty much planned on "finishing" the tires that day anyway, so I probably did a few more laps than I normally do in a students car. Like I said in an earlier post; The G was the best example of "shrinking around you at speed" of anything I've ever driven. Within a lap or two it is very easy to settle into a rythm with this car. I found it very "placeable" as in easy to hit your marks (turn-in, apex, track-out). Not that I suggest learning to drive hard in the mountain, but after playing on and over the limits on a track, I think this car would be INCREDIBLE in the mountains. The G and the 430 are different cars. More like F1 versus Rally. An F1 car couldn't even get down a road that a rally car does 160 down. A rally car on a road course probably laps 10-20 PERCENT slower than an F1 car (A rally car would likely get lapped within 6-8 laps at some tracks). Granted those are extremes, call the formula car a 1, the rally car an 80, and a Paris-Dakar vehicle a 100. The 430 is a 35, the G is a 45. As many tests have shown, the 430 and G are VERY close on a road-course. Sometimes the 430 wins, sometimes the G wins. Some could certainly come down to driver. A driver, even a pro, that has 5,000 hours in rwd and 200 in awd might be faster in the 430. A pro that has 5,000 hours in awd and 200 in rwd might be faster in the G. Like I said at the beginning; they are both GREAT cars. I had the opportunity to REALLY enjoy the G. With more laps, and a more enthusiastic owner, I would have more to say about the 430. Hope this helps. SS
On my 1500 mile round trip home over the holidays, I saw 0 legacy's and 2 lambo's. One Gallardo and one Murciélago playing tag from exit to exit in Chattanooga for about 10 miles. I kept up to admire the sound of the G. Sick.
hey, i signed up for an acct just to read this(ferrari forums make for good drama too-don't ask)... talk about an admin with a splinter up their ass, and you could pick out the lemmings from the drivers. i won't mention lambo dude's name here, but he was a cool guy-there's no reason to try and trow him under a bus. what an a55h0le. on another note, the writeup of the bull was a really good read... makes me want to get ambitious lol. not that i would ever abandon the suby mind you ;}
I was going to register to view it but my screwy internet is timing out on the registration page. Great comparison writeup on the 2 Italian supercars. I'm jealous, how was the legroom in them?:keke:
We love you too :grouphug: I'll bite my tongue on this, but I enjoyed running behind the Lambo at Tally and am eager to head back out there again and can only hope to have him come back. It was a blast!
that much I knew....we've auto-xed together! I was giving him that :huh: look just for saying that..... fyi, you need to get those smilies!! and a list of the other smilies!!